The Lavender Town Hypno
by DreamingNightImp
Summary: I never could understand why so many people were scared of Hypno. (( First attempt at something like this. It's Halloween, so why not? Also the debut of my (currently) only trainer OC! ))
1. Prologue

I've never seen a Hypno before. I always found the stories about them funny, and laughed it off when others told me they were afraid of them.

"They're just another pokemon," I'd say, grinning and carefree, "what's so scary about them? Maybe I'll catch one someday and show you that they're not all that frightening."

* * *

I'd never seen a Hypno before.

Now I see where the fear comes from.


	2. Welcome to Lavender Town

I should have known something was wrong the moment I stepped foot into that town. People cast me sideways glances, as if afraid to look directly at me. When I tried to walk over and talk to someone, they all but shrieked and bolted away.

Squirtle was acting strange, too. He kept his head down, as if expecting an attack at any minute. I'd never seen him like that before; he was docile, not skeptical.

But despite the warning signs, I didn't leave. I was here for a reason, after all, and that was to catch some local Pokemon. It's not like I was some big-shot trainer from far away, not by any means. I lived in a town that consisted of four or so houses and got my first Pokemon- Squritle- from a mishap at the lake nearby. That's a story for another day, though.

Finally, sick of the way the townspeople were treating me, I waltzed right into the PokeMart, up to the desk, and requested to buy a few PokeBalls. It was a long moment before the man at the counter replied, but when he did, it was with a nervous laugh.

"We thought you were a ghost."

"You're joking," I stated it more than asked, but when I looked at him, I saw no trace of humor. He seemed… completely serious.

"Your hair is white, you're certainly pale, and most of your clothes are white," he tried to explain, "even your hands are in white gloves, though I see now that they're fingerless. We thought you might have been… well, never mind," his reluctance to continue puzzled me, but something told me better than to push the subject. "In any case, welcome to Lavender Town! Sorry you weren't given a proper greeting sooner. What brings a trainer like you out here?"

"I heard I could catch a Ghost-type Pokemon here," I chuckled, though it came out more nervously than I'd meant, "Always wanted to see a Ghastly or Haunter."

"Those won't be the only 'ghosts' you'll see here if you aren't careful," it felt as if he'd tried to say it in good nature, but… his words felt like a warning. As if to change the subject, he quickly added, "So, what's your name?"

"Lynn," I answered a little to quickly, "and this is Squirtle." Hearing his name, my Pokemon glanced up at me. He looked concerned. A thought entered my mind then, and after a moment of thinking it over (and a curious glance from the man behind the counter), I asked, "Do you have a library here, or a place with computers?"

"No, we don't," the man replied, clearly a little confused about the question, "But, I'll tell you what. You can borrow my laptop for a bit if you stay right here in the PokeMart. You seem like a good kid. What are you looking up, anyways?"

"Just some Pokemon I don't have in my PokeDex yet," I lied. He smiled, as if satisfied with that answer, but his smile vanished quickly. Was he looking at me? No, it was as if he was looking at something… behind me. I turned around to look. I could see out the window from here. It looked like a nice day, sunny, and the breeze ruffled the grass just slightly.

"Here," his words snapped me out of my trance, making me jump. He was holding out his laptop to me.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this," my reply was hasty, but I was starting to feel a bit uneasy about this place. Was it just my imagination?

Probably. I did tend to think to into things at times. The man was likely just trying to scare me; after all, I'd heard Lavender Town was a spooky place at times. It was more likely that the locals all played an elaborate prank on travelers than there actually being any truth to the stories I'd heard.

There were a couple chairs near the counter. I sat down in one, and Squirtle hopped up into the other. He didn't look at me, though it seemed he was looking at _something_. Opening up the laptop, I got onto the internet and started looking for old news reports about Lavender Town. Whether I was being paranoid or not didn't matter. Better safe than sorry.

The following articles came up:

** POKEMON PSYCHICS- POSSESED?!**

** STRANGE GOINGS-ONS, WHAT'S INSIDE THE POKEMON TOWER?**

** GHOST-TYPES PLAYING PRANKS? MAYBE NOT.**

I was starting to get a little freaked out as I read through these articles, but they all seemed rather old. Strange images, grainy and blurry, showed people and Pokemon alike, supposedly 'under the effect' of the thing that was 'haunting' the Pokemon Tower. My nerves eased, however, when I saw the next article:

** TOWER MYSTERY SOLVED!**

The mystery of the strange and frightening happenings at the Pokemon Tower has been solved! Apparently, due to the nature of the Pokemon Tower, Ghost-Type Pokemon found it to be a suitable home. Their nature and behavior alone seemed to be the cause of all the creepy things happening, from the illusions of actual ghosts to the so-called 'possession' of various Pokemon Psychics that worked in the tower.

That was all I needed to hear. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. How dumb of me to actually be bothered by some of these stories! Clearly, it was all the work of the Ghost-Type Pokemon that I'd already known were here.

But, then again… the man at the counter still acted rather oddly. I went to ask Squirtle what he thought, hoping to get a laugh out of him, or at least a shrug telling me "_You're silly, do you really believe this?_" but neither came. Squirtle still wasn't looking at me. His eyes were glued to the window.


	3. Come With Me

To be completely honest, the day was very uneventful, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't watching my back. Maybe it was paranoia, but it felt like someone was keeping their eye on me. Perhaps it was innocent, like one of the townspeople were curious about a traveler or something, but… I couldn't be sure.

Squirtle never stopped acting strange, either. His tail would twitch, he'd suddenly look in a different direction, or he'd growl; it just wasn't like him to be so tense. Really, though I didn't much care for keeping him in his PokeBall, I was tempted to place him back in his. I didn't want him to accidentally hurt someone, after all, if they sneaked up on him by mistake and startled him, they might get a Bubble attack to the face.

And yet, something told me it would be better if I kept him at my side. I'd heard some famous trainers did that anyways, so it was becoming increasingly more popular. But, just in case, I made a point to keep an eye on him.

We didn't encounter any Pokemon at all. It didn't matter where we went, it seemed like they'd all just up and left. Not even a Pidgy in the trees or a Caterpie hiding in the grass. There was a Ratatta we happened by a bit further from the town, but it was so focused on running from something it didn't even bother to try and fight us. At first, I'd thought it wanted to get away from Squirtle, but it never even glanced at us.

Maybe there was something going on around here? Perhaps a big Pokemon was in the area, probably a Ghost-Type, and it was scaring everyone? That seemed like the best answer I could come up with as I walked back to the town. The sun was beginning to set, so I needed to see if I could find a place to sleep.

Something told me it would be safer to sleep out here, away from that strange place with those strange people, but I didn't have anything but a few PokeBalls, Squirtle, and the clothes on my back. I needed a warm place to sleep, as there was already a growing chill in the air.

It was twilight by the time I got back. The sky was grey but, oddly, cast a light purple-ish hue over the town. That must have been why it was called 'Lavender Town.' Although, as I got closer, I couldn't tell if what I was seeing was a hue caused by the lighting, or a faint mist. How… eerie, to say the least.

Had I been very active today? My eyelids were already heavy. Squirtle's seemed to be, too. I had to pick him up before we went into the Pokemon Center (I was still reluctant to return him to his PokeBall).

Nurse Joy looked tired as well. So did everyone else.

"I take it you'd like to stay the night?" she smiled at me, kind but wary, and I nodded in response. "Alright. Just stay in the chairs closer to the desk, and don't go outside in the middle of the night," as if realized how odd her words were, she quickly added, "There are a lot of Ghost-Type Pokemon here. They tend to come out more at night."

I was to tired to question her, and felt that, even if I was wide awake, it wouldn't have been the best idea. So, with nothing else to do, I took a seat close to the desk, set Squirtle in my lap, leaned my head back and…

* * *

I couldn't remember falling asleep. In fact, I couldn't remember much beyond Nurse Joy speaking with me. What had she said again? Something about Ghost-Types… at night…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Squirtle was sleeping like a rock, almost literally, since he'd receded into his shell. I listened for a moment, and could hear him breathing faintly. Strange, he normally made a few noises in his sleep, or at least snored.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Glancing at the desk, I saw that Nurse Joy had fallen asleep at the counter. Poor woman, must be overworked, though I couldn't imagine how. Maybe a lot of trainers had come through here recently? That didn't seem likely…

Tap. Tap. Tap.

What was that noise?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

How long had it been going on? My neck felt stiff. That's what I got for sleeping in a chair. But I was curious. Despite the discomfort it caused, I turned to look at the doors of the Pokemon Center.

Someone was standing outside. He looked about my age. It was hard to see, but it looked like he was smiling. I could see his hand up, his finger having been positioned to tap the glass again. Since he had my attention, there was no further need to tap the glass, it seemed.

I smiled at him. Carefully, I set Squirtle in the chair next to me while I got up to go see the other boy. Being mindful of my steps, I walked slowly over to the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center (which must certainly be locked if he couldn't get in). When I was at the door me and the other boy stood, face-to-face, with only glass separating us.

He looked friendly, perhaps even cheerful. His hair stuck up in the front some, while it seemed to swoop to the left in the back. I got the impression that he was a trainer, like myself, though I don't know why. Upon further examination, I noticed he was wearing very plain clothes, consisting of a short sleeved polo, jeans, and sneakers.

A split second later, I froze in fear.

Everything about him was _white_.

His clothes. His skin. His hair. His eyes- _white_.

_ Like a ghost._

He noticed my reaction. His expression went from friendly to concerned, to almost apologetic. As if he knew why I was afraid.

I opened my mouth to speak, but remembered the others still asleep inside. Thinking better, I closed my mouth. The trainer boy behind the glass seemed to understand my action, and began writing with his finger on the now somewhat foggy glass.

Since I could read what he said, he had to be writing backwards. However, I'd never seen someone write backwards as easily as they did forwards. I took a step back so that I could read what he had written.

COME WITH ME

I shook my head.

PLEASE?

I shook my head again, mouthing "I can't" to him.

I NEED YOU

Something started growling behind me. I swung around, only to find that Squirtle had woken up and had jumped down from the chair. He stood on all fours, snarling like a wild Pokemon. His eyes were glued to the trainer boy outside.

Well, _had_ been outside. He had vanished, but his message had not.

COME WITH ME

PLEASE?

I NEED YOU


	4. Hypnosis

I was laying by the door the next morning. Squirtle was sitting between me and the glass, as if he'd been that way all night. At first, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there, but as I started to get up, the memories flooded back. A strange tapping, the trainer boy, his message- had it been a dream? If it was, how had I gotten here?

Everyone else was still asleep. I noticed the purple hue outside. Twilight? Hadn't it been twilight when I- and the rest of the people and Pokemon here- had fallen asleep? Strange, and I still felt rather drowsy, too.

After I'd stood and brushed myself off, I stared outside. Something was going on. It wasn't just paranoia, there was really something happening here. I could feel it and, by the looks of it, Squirtle could, too.

The doors were still locked, but I could see how to unlock them. Glancing back to the desk, I saw Nurse Joy still fast asleep. A few other townspeople and their Pokemon slept in the chairs nearby. Not a single one stirred.

As quietly as I could manage, I was able to get the doors open. Me and Squirtle silently slipped outside into the cool, crisp air and dew-dampened grass. It felt nice, but the comfort that came with it also brought a disturbing sense of dread.

Feeling it fitting to remain as quiet as possible, we walked slowly around the town. No one else was awake yet. The whole place was silent, save for the occasional sound of blowing wind and ruffled grass. 'Eerie' came to mind again, but I tried to push the thought away.

Suddenly, breaking the intense silence, Squirtle spun around and charged at something. I yelped at the abrupt action, turning to where he'd run to and looking around frantically.

I felt it before I saw it. A strange calm, a visual that seemed more like a soft sound, lulling me to sleep. An undertone of unhappiness to the feeling was all that kept me from the full extent its spell.

Squirtle was laying in the grass. I thought he was hurt, but when I ran up to him, he was only asleep. Something yellow shifted through the corner of my eye. Reluctantly, I looked up to see what it was.

Was that a Pokemon? It seemed like one. I stared at it for a moment, curious and confused. Did it want to attack us?

The strange Pokemon stared back. I felt my eyelids and body getting heavier and heavier the longer I looked at it, so I closed my eyes and looked away. I could hear footsteps, but I couldn't tell if they were getting further away… or closer.

I chanced a look in the direction of the other. It's pose hadn't changed, but it was definitely closer. A sudden jolt of panic ripped through my body, and before I knew it, I was up and carrying Squirtle away as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn't dare look back.

Apparently, I hadn't gotten very far away from the Pokemon Center, and I was at its doors in what seemed like the blink of an eye. When the doors wouldn't open, I banged on the glass with my fist.

"HELP!" I shouted, "PLEASE! LET ME IN! BEFORE IT COMES BACK!"

Someone inside must have heard me, because they shifted and, abruptly, stood bolt upright. "OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE!" I pleaded, still not daring to look behind me. A sinking feeling was growing in my stomach that, at a leisurely pace, the thing I was running from was following me.

More people were jolted awake. They seemed reluctant to let me in, and looked, from what I could see, absolutely terrified. The words of the man who had first spoken to me echoed in my mind:

_"We thought you were a ghost."_

"IT'S ME! LYNN!" I rammed the door with my elbow, jarring it, but it still wouldn't open. "MY SQUIRTLE NEEDS HELP!" it was the last thing I could think of saying to convince them and, thank Arceus, it seemed to work. Nurse Joy rushed over to the doors and opened them.

I fell in, holding Squirtle tightly to my chest and breathing as if I'd run a marathon. Someone picked me up and walked me closer to the desk, setting me in a chair. They mumbled to one another, something about _"Did it happen?" _and_ "Not again."_

* * *

I must have passed out. Squirtle was staring at me when I opened my eyes.

"You're okay?" I all but croaked.

"Your Squirtle was under the effects of Hypnosis," it took me a moment to recognize the voice and where it came from. Nurse Joy was sitting behind the counter, giving me a concerned look.

"Hypnosis?" I thought for a moment. Wasn't that a Psychic-Type move? "What Pokemon around here would know that attack?"

"…I'm not sure," she sighed in response.

"I think it's about time someone clued me in on what's going on here," Squirtle hopped down off my lap as I stood up and walked to the desk.

"We didn't want to say anything to you. The people of this town are naturally a bit wary of travelers these days, as we've had a… long line of poor experiences with them in recent years," she didn't elaborate on the topic. I didn't ask her to. "Recently, a whole team was buried at the Pokemon Tower. No one is entirely sure what happened, but we do know this: a trainer and his team got into some serious trouble. As the story goes, his Drowzee managed to alert someone at the nearby town, but it was far to late. She didn't make it, either," Nurse Joy glanced down at her desk before continuing. "She and her five teammates, a Charmeleon, a Bellsprout, a Pikachu, a Mankey, and a Meowth if I remember correctly, were buried here a few months ago. That's when everything started to… change."

"What do you mean?" the question was asked automatically. My mind had flittered back to the trainer I had seen sometime in the night. Could he have been the trainer who lost his life with his team?

"Lavender Town is no stranger to, well, things many people would deem frightening," she confessed, "I'm sure you've heard the stories." I had, and the memories made me shift uncomfortably. "But we thought we were rid of all those terrible things when a brave trainer went to the top of the Pokemon Tower and lifted the curse. That was over ten years ago now, I think. As it would turn out, it seems we're just prone to this sort of thing."

"What's been happening at night?" I glanced to Squirtle, who was sitting in a nearby chair and listening to us.

"Not long after the team was buried in the Pokemon Tower, the town started to get sleepy when twilight came. People and Pokemon alike would just stop what they were doing and fall asleep. Needless to say, this caused quite a few injuries at first, and even one death," Nurse Joy dabbed tears beading in her eyes, "Someone passed out in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know?"

I remained silent.

"Then, Pokemon started to act strange. First it was the most common types, Caterpie and Pidgy and Ratatta and the like. They started to move further and further away from the town. After that was the Ghost-Type Pokemon. It was like they started to act all smug at first, getting bolder and bolder, then suddenly they just… became very aloof. Started to avoid people rather than play tricks on them."

"I was running from a yellow Pokemon," I blurted out, "Could that have something to do with this?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah... It looked sort of human, too, but more squat. It had a big nose and ears."

"Did it carry anything?"

"Well," I thought back to the strange Pokemon, though I didn't want to. "Yes. It carried something on a string," I finally said, glancing back to Squirtle again.

"That sounds like Hypno," she stated, though clearly puzzled. "But there's no Hypno around here. Drowzee, their first evolution, are normally found near Route 11. I guess it's not impossible for one to have wandered out here, though."

"Maybe the Hypno is causing all this?" to my surprise, and slight offense, Nurse Joy started to giggle.

"What was your name again?"

"Lynn," I replied bitterly.

"Lynn, I know you're a new trainer, so this is important. Psychic-Type Pokemon are weak against Ghost-Type Pokemon. Hypno Is a Psychic-Type, and would have a lot of trouble around here."

"You don't believe I saw one, did you?" I huffed.

"It's not that at all! It's just, I can't at all see how a Hypno could just suddenly cause such a ruckus around here. In all my time working with Pokemon, I've never heard of something like that."

"I see," her argument was valid. How could a Psychic-Type be a bother to Ghost-Types anyways? "Thanks for the information. And I'm really sorry about… earlier."

"You wouldn't be the first," was all she said before getting back to work. Taking that as my cue to leave, I motioned for Squirtle to follow me outside.

It was pleasantly warm, and a nice breeze was blowing. Squirtle looked up at me curiously, and I knew exactly what he was asking.

"We're staying," I stated, looking up at the Pokemon Tower nearby.

A trainer before me had rid these people of a horrible curse. I wasn't as strong or as cool as he was, but one thing was for sure: I'd get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing I did.

And a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach whispered, _"It just might be."_


End file.
